For Janice - Books Part 2

Before I get into part 2 of the book shelf saga, here is a review of one of the last books completed in 2023. If I'd made my Top Ten List today, it would have made the list. Excellent book.

Just Finished

1. The Skull Mantra by Eliot Pattison (Inspector Shan #1 / 1999).

"I have to say that The Skull Mantra, the first book in the Inspector Shan mystery series by Eliot Pattison was a nice surprise. It's been sitting on my bookshelf for a few years and I kept bypassing it, but I finally decided to give it a go. 

It took me awhile to get into the flow, partly because I had a few other books on the go at the same time and also because it took me some time to get used to the names, the cultures, the political aspects, etc. But once I did, the story became a fascinating look at the Chinese occupation of Tibet and the story was a tense, exciting thriller.

Inspector Shan was a veteran investigator in Beijing who had been found guilty of crimes against the nation and was banished to Tibet where he finds himself amongst Buddhist monks held prisoner in a work camp. Shan has been there for a few years now and works on the same work gangs as the monks building a road into the mountains. As the story commences the crew finds a headless body near their work site. When the body is discovered to be that of a local Chinese prosecutor, Shan is brought in by Colonel Tan, the local security chief, to conduct an informal investigation. Shan is assisted by a Tibetan civilian, Yeshe and a Chinese Army Sgt, Feng.

What Colonel Tan hopes will be a simple investigation that will indict Buddhist activists becomes a far - reaching, complex investigation, that involves American mine owners, other Chinese functionaries and maybe even Tibetan demons, Tamdin by name.

Pattison provides a fascinating, rich description of the lives of those in Tibet, the Buddhist prisoners, the Chinese overlords and everyone else in between. There is a great deal of spiritualism involved in the story and it makes the people more complete and interesting. The politics involved as well, is well described and shows how complex a path Shan must follow to get to the truth. His assistants are both well presented and slowly they both come to appreciate Shan's work and his honesty.

As the story builds, the tension mounts and mounts and you become more invested in what is going on. The ultimate solution becomes a logical, well thought out conclusion, totally believable and the ending is poignant, sad in some ways, but also leaves you feeling positive and hopeful. I'm sorry it took me so long to get to this series, but now I'm really looking forward to trying the 2nd book. (5.0 stars)"

Books Continued - The Extra Bedroom

The Original Room

When we first moved into our current home, Jo had many great ideas for updating and renovating. One of the rooms that got a major do over was the extra bedroom, over the garage.

A bit of a change eh?

This is what it looked like after the work was finished.

Bookcases on left and right side of room

As you can see, there are lots of books in the room. I'm going to start with those at the opposite end, in two small bookcases we have there.

1. Left side as you look at the door. The books on the top shelf are Jo's Anne of Green Gables collection, a Xmas prezzie from me a few years back

1a. Left side middle shelf. From left to right you have Jo's Jane Austen collection, then a variety of graphic novels I've been collecting - Lore Olympus by Rachel Smythe, the Sandman graphics by Neil Gaiman, Saga by Brian K. Vaughn, Sin City and a variety of graphic novels in the Hard Crime series.

1b. Left side bottom shelf. More graphic novels, the Space Boy series. A collection of Hard Crime novels and graphics from Max Allan Collins - Ms. Tree, Quarry and others. Finally a variety of non - fiction and mysteries; Suez by Keith Kyle, How to Stand up to a Dictator by Maria Ressa, mysteries by Anthony Horowitz, Val McDermid, Louise Penny and a few other books you can see by clicking on the picture.

1c. Left side overflow. Mostly Young Adult adventure series, Enola Holmes, more Space Boy and #2 in the Edge Chronicles.

2. Right side as you look at the door. Mostly paperback spy books and some newer hard covers.

2a. A slight closer picture. You've got Adam Hall's Quiller spy series, Adam Diment's Philip McAlpine spy series, James Leasor's Dr Jason Love books, and other spy stories by Victor Canning, Gavin Lyall, James Mayo. Some of the other books include Kazuo Ishiguro - Never Let Me Go, CA Fletcher - Dead Water, Leigh Bardugo - Hell Bent, Justin Cronin - The City of Mirrors and a few others.

So there you go, a few other books for you to check out. How do you like our book shelves so far? We explore the other end of the room next, then head downstairs.